Raising the Jabsco Spot/Search Light

Recently I saw a pic in "sidetrack's" album showing how he moved his spot light to the higher level on the mast to reduce the glare off the bow rails.

So, I did that mod to my boat this morning. To get the project started, I brought the mast into the shop



I opened up the wiring harness. This is what I found



The spot light had orange, grey, and black wires; the all around light had white and yellow wires. The black from the spot light and the yellow from the all-around are merged to yield a total of 4 wires going to the plug.

Next I drilled (3) mounting holes and moved the spot light to it's new position. The metal has initial hardness but once I broke through the 'plating' the bits drilled through easily. I drilled 3/16" holes. There is an existing large hole that works for passing the cable with wires from the bottom of the spot light.

Then, I attached new wires to the light. I used heat shrink butt connectors as shown here



These three wires were bundled and covered with heat shrink for more moisture protection



The wires where then bundled into a 3/8" split loom.


I used 1/2" loom at the bottom where the All-around light's wires join together.

The final look:



And, most importantly, the all around AND the spot light still work! Yippee.

It was a fairly easy job as long as you have drill bits, heat shrink, tinned wire, butt connectors, and split loom material.

/david

Nice looking and detailed job David. One question, was there enough existing wire to run from the original position to the higher point, without adding any additional wire?

Jim F

trailertrawlerkismet":aqzwjczy said:

Nice looking and detailed job David. One question, was there enough existing wire to run from the original position to the higher point, without adding any additional wire?

Jim F

Click to expand...

No there is NOT enough existing wire length. I extended the 3 wires from the spotlight by about 30 inches each. On my mast, the height difference is 30 inches from the original to the new spot light position.

/david

Great post and pics. I'm going to consider this mod. Thanks!

Gini

Nice shop!

bbrh842":2mex20ov said:

Nice shop!

Click to expand...

Thanks!

It helps to have a place to get in out of the weather if possible.

/david

Great photos. Looks like I have now got a job to do! Regards and thanks for the guidance. Stevan

Dave:

That mod is awesome..... My new 2018 R-27/OB does not have a search light..... 😱 and the mast is much much smaller in height... 😱 So, I'm likely to go with a hand held spotlight for time being.

Your mods are always so professional looking .... keep them coming and especially the photos as they make a huge difference in showing more exactly how you did things.

Nice work, looks great! Have you tried using it yet?